Painting Mona Lisa. Jeanne Kalogridis

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СКАЧАТЬ formed not by a hot poker but by God, and were the envy of every Florentine woman. She generally kept them hidden beneath a cap – perfectly round on the sides, and perfectly flat on top, which she said reminded her of her native dress – with a long scarf that ballooned from her hair’s volume. At times, she muttered to herself in her native tongue, which sounded like no language that I had ever heard; she called it Adyghabza.

      Zalumma curtsied, then led the man into the house to meet my mother. She had been nervous that morning, no doubt because this astrologer was the most prestigious in town and had, when the Pope’s forecaster had taken ill, even been consulted by His Holiness. I was to remain out of view, for this first encounter was solely a business matter, and I would only be a distraction.

      I left my room and stepped lightly to the top of the stairs to see if I could make out what was going on two floors below me. Though my hearing was keen, the stone walls were thick, and my mother had shut the door to the reception chamber. I could not even make out muffled voices.

      The initial meeting did not last long. My mother opened the door and called for Zalumma; I heard her quick steps on the marble, then a man’s voice.

      I retreated from the stairs and hurried back to window, with its view of the astrologer’s carriage.

      Zalumma escorted him from the house – then, after glancing about, handed him a small object, perhaps a purse. He refused it at first, but Zalumma drew close and addressed him earnestly, urgently. After a moment of indecision, he pocketed the object, then climbed into his carriage and was driven away.

      I assumed that she had paid him for a reading, though I was surprised that a man of such stature, whose demeanour reflected prideful arrogance, would read for a slave. Or perhaps it was as simple a thing as my mother forgetting to pay him.

      As she walked back towards the house, Zalumma happened to glance up and meet my gaze. Flustered at being caught spying, I withdrew.

      I expected Zalumma, who enjoyed teasing me about my misdeeds, to mention it later; but she remained altogether silent on the matter.

       II

      Three days later, the astrologer returned – this time without his attendants. Once again, I watched from the top floor window as he climbed from the carriage to be greeted by Zalumma. I was excited; Mother had agreed to call for me when the time was right. I decided that she wanted time to polish any negative news, and give it a rosier glow.

      This time the horoscopist wore his wealth in the form of a brilliant yellow tunic of silk damask trimmed with brown marten fur. Before entering the house, he paused and spoke to Zalumma furtively; she put a hand to her mouth as if shocked by what he said. He asked her a question. She shook her head, then put a hand on his forearm, apparently demanding something from him. He handed her a scroll of papers, then pulled away, irritated, and strode into our palazzo. Agitated, she tucked the scroll into a pocket hidden in the folds of her skirt, then followed on his heels.

      I left the window and stood listening at the top of the stairs, mystified by the encounter and impatient for my summons.

      Less than a quarter hour later, I started violently when downstairs, a door was flung open with such force it slammed against the wall. I ran to the window: the astrologer was walking, unescorted, back to his carriage.

      I lifted my skirts and dashed down the stairs full tilt, grateful that I encountered neither Zalumma nor my mother. Breathless, I arrived at the carriage just as the astrologer gave his driver the signal to leave.

      I put my hand on the polished wooden door and looked up at the man sitting on the other side. ‘Please stop,’ I said.

      He gestured for the driver to hold the horses back and scowled down at me, clearly in a foul mood; yet his gaze also held a curious compassion. ‘You would be the daughter, then.’

      ‘Yes.’

      He appraised me carefully. ‘I will not be party to deception. Do you understand?’

      ‘No.’

      ‘Hmm. I see that you do not.’ He paused to choose his words carefully. ‘Your mother, Madonna Lucrezia, said that you were the one who requested my services. Is that so?’

      ‘It is.’ I flushed, not knowing whether my admission would anger him further.

      ‘Then you deserve to hear at least some of the truth, for you will never hear the full of it in this house.’ His pompous irritation faded and his tone grew earnest and dark. ‘Your chart is unusual – some would say it is distressing. I take my art very seriously, young lady, and employ my intuition well, and it tells me that you are caught in a cycle of violence, of blood and deceit. What others have begun, you must finish.’

      I recoiled, startled into silence by such unexpected harshness. When I found my voice, I insisted, ‘I want nothing to do with such things.’

      ‘You are fire four times over,’ he said. ‘Your temper is a furnace in which the sword of justice must be forged. In your stars, I saw an act of violence, one which is your past and your future.’

      ‘But I would never do anything to hurt someone else!’

      ‘God has ordained it. He has His reasons for your destiny.’

      I wanted to ask more, but the astrologer called to his driver and a pair of fine black horses pulled them away.

      Perplexed and troubled, I walked back towards the house. I lifted my gaze, and saw Zalumma staring down at me from the top floor window.

      By the time I returned to my chamber, she was gone. There I waited for half an hour, until my mother called for me.

      She still sat in the grand hall where she had received the astrologer. She smiled when I entered, apparently unaware of my encounter with him or of Zalumma’s distress. In her hand she bore a sheaf of papers.

      ‘Come, sit beside me,’ she said brightly. ‘I shall tell you all about your stars. They should have been charted long ago, so I have decided that you still deserve a new gown. Your father will take you today into the city, to choose the cloth; but you must say nothing to him about this.’ She nodded at the papers. ‘Otherwise, he will judge us as too extravagant.’

      I sat stiffly, my back straight, my hands folded tightly in my lap.

      ‘See here.’ My mother set the papers in her lap and rested her fingertip on the astrologer’s elegant script. ‘You are Gemini, of course – air. And have Pisces rising, which is water. Your moon is in Aries – fire. And you have many aspects of earth in your chart, which makes you exceedingly well-balanced, and this indicates a most fortunate future.’

      As she spoke, my anger grew. She had spent the past half-hour composing herself and concocting a happy falsehood. The astrologer had been right; I could not expect to find the truth here.

      ‘You will have a long, good life, wealth, and many children,’ my mother continued. ‘You need not worry about which man you marry, for you are so well-aspected towards every sign that—’

      I cut her off. ‘No, I am fire four times over,’ I said. ‘My life will be marked by treachery and blood.’

      My mother СКАЧАТЬ